The American river closes to all fishing from the hatchery at Nimbus dam to down at the end of Ancil Hoffman park. It closes in October in Salmon spawn and re-opens on January 1st for the Steelhead run. About 2 weeks prior to the new year they open the ladders at the hatchery for the fish to spawn. So when the season opens on 1st, if it is a good running year for Steelhead, they can be plentiful in this section of river. This year they seem to be more than normal. I would think high water flows in late fall and early winter have allowed the Steelhead all the water they need to spawn. The Salmon run got sketchy in mid-fall due to low river waters but, rains came heavy so I would hope it ended up okay for all the eggs.
We have been reading up on how to fish for Steelhead for a while now. When the 1st came, it was time to try. Decided the learning spot would be at Sailor Bar. We went out one evening last week to break the ice. It was kind of circus act but, much needed practice as drifting is tricky. Almost lost my cell phone and in the process of finding met a man named Keith. He was kind enough to give us a quick how to on drifting for Steelies with spinning gear. So with some kind of local input, we were ready to attack.
Our plan was Saturday morning we would head down to Sailor bar and give it a go. So I got there at around 7 am, to hopefully get the prime spot on the point of the "Bar". I got it and was surprised by the lack of the people. I have heard the hardest part of all this is dealing with the assholes on the river. Not the case to day. Everyone seemed kind and was giving everyone plenty of space. Which is good cause no one likes an asshole.
I started off drifting roe. Fresh off perfecting the egg knot, it went well. I realized quick I don't like drifting with a float. It takes away from feeling the weight bounce on the bottom, creating the "drift". So off with the float and it will probably stay this way. It feels so much better when the line is taunt with the weight. I remained biteless and wasn't sure sure if I was doing it right or the fish just aren't there. A local drift boat passed by and we had some small talk. Told him I was drifting roe with no luck but, I am new at this. He then old me to stick it out in current my spot. They had been out daily that week and didn't have a bite before 10 am. It was 830. 10 is about when the sun hits the water and the fish start to bite. So while waiting for the prime hour, I continued to practice my drifting.
The gentlemen fishing next to me hooked one about a half hour later. He had me try to net it because it was almost right next to me. It jumped out of the water at feet and snapped his line. With a big scoop of the net, I missed. The guy was totally cool about losing it. He was excited it fought so well. I'm glad he was cool because I was genuinely worried he was going to be pissed. The man said he was drifting brown beads. I didn't have any beads but, I did have few yarn balls that looked like brown beads with a red dot in it. Just as I did this, Dave showed up to join in the shenanigans. He started to tie an egg knot to drift roe and I told him I just switched to the yarn balls.
3 drifts into this set-up I thought I was snagged. A nice hard pull and I realized this was no snag. There was a fierce head shake then those two beautiful words; FISH ON! I learned quick that these Steelies are fightin' fish. Spooled me multiple and breached twice in 5 minutes. Then she made her way into some riffles and now the fight gets weird. When she got into the riffles, she sat on the bottom behind a rock. I couldn't reel at all and she wasn't moving. I was sure I was snagged. Tried to force it and on the second hard pull, she spools me hard. Oh yeah, she's still there. I walked myself back into the calmer water and she knew what I was up to. She made a hard run back into the current and popped the hook out. DAMMIT!! Oh well, for the first one, that was one hell of a fight. Also learned real quick, these fish are smarter than most. Gotta wear them out a little more before trying to bring them in. Lesson learned. Back to drifting.
A snagged rig or 2 later(about an hour) I was still drifting the same thing. Dave now has on the same rig. A few more people were on the point with this but, they seemed cool. They were giving us and them plenty of space. Still no A-holes, which is nice. Same drift once again. A nice hard pull like a snag, I pull and BAM. She shoots straight out of the water. FISH ON!! Not gonna let this one get away. I fought her for what seemed like an eternity. Turns out, it was only 5 minutes. I let her run multiple times and tried to get her into the calm water. She wasn't gonna let me at first but, after couple of last bursts, she wore down. Dave walked slowly out into the water to net her. This must be done carefully because these fish get really spooked by the slightest movement. With only 8 lb test line, a quick movement would spook this meaty fish and easily snap the line. But Dave is no rookie. He went nice a slow, net in the water, and scooped her up. There it is, my first Steelie. A quick check of the adipose fin and she is hatchery fish. She will be dinner. A native fish will have it's adipose fin and the native are catch and release only. Hatchery fish have their fin cut off, so you can tell the difference. The picture below shows the difference.
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| These are Salmon in the pic but, their adipose fin is the same. |
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| My first beautiful Steelhead |
Dave's father showed up to join us shortly after I caught mine. He was nice enough to bring more gear for us try, including more colors of yarn balls. He came to fish but, changed his mind and said he was enjoying watching us. Shortly after, Dave switched his to a different color yarn ball. Only moment later after the rig change, those magical words are said; FISH ON!! Awesome and just in time for his Dad to watch. We were very glad he showed up then because he brought his new GoPro (I must own one of these soon.) As my buddy Matt would say: "GoPro everything". Davids Dad grabbed the camera and I grabbed the net. We decided after the last time, that when it's fish on, the other person just grab the net and get in the water. This should help to avoid spooking the fish when netting. I will let the GoPro tell the rest:
We both have great fish now and tried a little while longer. I was getting pretty worn out because I had been standing in current since 7 am it was now 2 pm.....Time sure flies when you're rippin' lips!! Just as we were going to calling it a day, I hear Dave yell those sweet words; FISH ON!! Unfortunately, it didn't last long and she got off quick. Not much longer and we threw in the towel.
It was a great first full day chasing Steelies. The first of many more to come. We learned a great deal and still manage 1 good fish each. Hopefully the good luck will keep rolling. I need to perfect my smoker skills before Kokanee season and the big boys in the fall.
This is my first blog post like this and it seemed to run a little long but, I was having fun with it. I promise, they won't all be so long.
Fish caught: 2
Weight: Mine - 7 lbs Daves - 8+ lbs. Both 27"
Good luck out there.
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